title: Targeting tyrosine-kinases in ovarian cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the leading cause of gynaecologic cancer death. Although in some cases initial treatment is effective, most of the women diagnosed with EOC will probably need medical treatment for their disease. There is a critical need to develop effective new strategies for the management of patients with advanced or recurrent EOC, and targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has continued to be an area of active research and development in this setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review summarises the available evidence on the use of TKIs in the clinical management of women with EOC. This article consists of material obtained via Medline, PubMed and EMBASE literature searches up to March 2013.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Several Phase I/II and III trials evaluated TKIs in EOC; however, it is difficult to draw conclusions on the efficacy of TKI regimens in these patients. TKIs seem to be better tolerated than conventional chemotherapy with a different toxicity profile. A better understanding of the signalling pathways, the toxicity profiles, the potential pharmacokinetic interactions as well as the identification of predictive biomarkers are needed to better identify a targeted patient population before these agents become part of routine treatment.
authors.affiliation: University of Genoa, San Martino Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , Largo R. Benzi 1, 16132 Genoa , Italy +01139010511525 ; +01139010511525 ; simoneferrero@me.com.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morotti
authors.forename: Christian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Mario Valenzano
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Menada
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrero
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000401:mortality; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases